Other Names:  Japanese Serissa, S. foetida

Description:

Very tiny and dense dark green leaves with thin yellow margins, cover this slow growing variety; pink buds open to showy white trumpet flowers; used extensively in bonsai or as a house plant; a lovely garden accent for a small area

Ornamental Features

White Swan Serissa features showy white trumpet-shaped flowers along the branches from early to late spring, which emerge from distinctive pink flower buds. It has attractive dark green foliage edged in yellow. The small glossy oval leaves are highly ornamental and remain dark green throughout the winter.

Landscape Attributes

White Swan Serissa is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with an upright spreading habit of growth. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It has no significant negative characteristics.

White Swan Serissa is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

White Swan Serissa will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It has a low canopy. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It does best in average to evenly moist conditions, but will not tolerate standing water. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. Consider applying a thick mulch around the root zone in both summer and winter to conserve soil moisture and protect it in exposed locations or colder microclimates. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

White Swan Serissa makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.